The Three Types of Change

Implementing a change initiative can be challenging, especially for those who have never led one. While organizational change is often discussed as a single concept, there are multiple types. Understanding the type of change you need to manage can set you on the right path of overseeing its success.

Here’s an overview of the different types of organizational change every manager needs to understand to be effective and lead their teams to success.

Adaptive Change

Adaptive changes are small, incremental adjustments often related to fine-tuning existing processes, products, and company culture, and don’t fundamentally change the organization as a whole. 

To manage adaptive changes, managers need to drive and control the process of change. They need to see the big picture and understand why small adaptations are necessary for the organization's long-term success. 

Transformational Change

Transformational change refers to changes that are much grander in scope. This change refers to a dramatic evolution of an organization’s strategy, culture, structure, or processes. The need for this change is often triggered by a major external factors, such as economic situation or social changes.

While adaptive changes require managers to be methodical and analytical, transformational changes need them to be persuaders and visionaries. When faced with such a drastic change, the manager’s primary responsibility is to lead employees to believe in the change, align them to the new vision, and motivate them for success.

The In-Between

The key value of thinking about organizational change as a spectrum is it allows you to think about everything that falls in between transformational and adaptive change. The vast majority of change is unlikely to fall into the transformational or adaptive buckets.

Managers must then balance being both methodical (adaptive) and visionary (transformational). After motivating employees to align with the new direction, changes need to be implemented in a measurable and adjustable process.

Being able to recognize the three types of change helps develop your change management skills. If you can identify the type of change occurring in your workplace, you’ll be better able to  prepare and plan for the implementation of change, as well as control the reactions your team members have to those changes.